A seat track repair device is disclosed for an aircraft seat track which has a rail, a support member depending from the rail, a first arm extending in a first direction laterally away from the support member and a second arm extending in a second direction laterally away from the support member, the first direction being opposite to the second direction. The seat track device includes an elongate member having a first and a second end. The elongate member has a replacement rail which has an upper and a lower extremity. A first wing extends laterally away from the lower extremity of the replacement rail and a second wing extends laterally away from the lower extremity of the replacement rail and away from the first wing. A fastener extends through one of the wings of the elongate member such that when the rail is removed from the depending support member and the first and second wings of the elongate member are aligned respectively with the first and second arms of the seat track, the fastener also extends through a corresponding adjacent arm of the support member for fastening the elongate member to the aircraft seat track.
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1. A seat track repair device for an aircraft seat track which has a rail, a support member depending from the rail, a first arm extending in a first direction laterally away from the support member and a second arm extending in a second direction laterally away from the support member, the first direction being opposite to the second direction, said seat track device comprising:
an elongate member having a first and a second end;
said elongate member including:
a replacement rail having an upper and a lower extremity;
a first wing extending laterally away from said lower extremity of said replacement rail;
a second wing extending laterally away from said lower extremity of said replacement rail and away from said first wing; and
a fastener extending through one of said wings of said elongate member such that when the rail is removed from the depending support member and said first and second wings of said elongate member are aligned respectively with the first and second arms of the seat track, said fastener also extends through a corresponding adjacent arm of the support member for fastening said elongate member to the aircraft seat track.
11. A seat track repair device for an aircraft seat track which has a rail, a support member depending from the rail, a first arm extending in a first direction laterally away from the support member and a second arm extending in a second direction laterally away from the support member, the first direction being opposite to the second direction, said seat track device comprising:
an elongate member having a first and a second end;
said elongate member including:
a replacement rail having an upper and a lower extremity;
a first wing extending laterally away from said lower extremity of said replacement rail;
a second wing extending laterally away from said lower extremity of said replacement rail and away from said first wing;
a floorboard support cooperating with said elongate member and the seat track, said floorboard support having a first and a second portion;
said first portion of said floorboard support cooperating with said elongate member such that when the rail is removed from the depending support member and said first and second wing of said elongate member are aligned respectively with the first and second arm of the seat track, one of the arms of the seat track is sandwiched between said first portion of said floorboard support and a corresponding wing of said elongate member;
a fastener extending through said corresponding wing, said one of the arms and said first portion of said floorboard support for fastening said elongate member and said floorboard support to the seat track; and
said elongate member being a metal extrusion of inverted t-shaped configuration.
12. A method of repairing a seat track for an aircraft seat track which has a rail, a support member depending from the rail, a first arm extending in a first direction laterally away from the support member and a second arm extending in a second direction laterally away from the support member, the first direction being opposite to the second direction, said method comprising the steps of:
cutting off a worn rail of the seat track;
aligning an elongate member having a first and a second end so that the elongate member is aligned relative to the arms of the seat track, the elongate member including:
a replacement rail having an upper and a lower extremity;
a first wing extending laterally away from the lower extremity of the replacement rail;
a second wing extending laterally away from the lower extremity of the replacement rail and away from the first wing;
positioning a floorboard support such that the support cooperates with the elongate member and the seat track, the floorboard support having a first and a second portion, the first portion of the floorboard support cooperating with the elongate member such that when the rail is removed from the depending support member and the first and second wing of the elongate member are aligned respectively with the first and second arm of the seat track, one of the arms of the seat track is sandwiched between the first portion of the floorboard support and a corresponding wing of the elongate member; and
inserting a fastener through the corresponding wing, the one of the arms and the first portion of the floorboard support for fastening the elongate member and the floorboard support to the seat track.
2. A seat track repair device as set forth in
said elongate member is a metal extrusion of inverted t-shaped configuration.
3. A seat track repair device as set forth in
said replacement rail is of substantially a same cross-sectional configuration as the rail removed from the depending support member.
4. A seat track repair device as set forth in
said lower extremity of said replacement rail defines a cavity which extends from said first to said second end of said elongate member such that when said elongate member is aligned with the arms of the seat track after the removal of the rail, any remaining portion of the rail is accommodated within said cavity such that said first and second wings of said elongate member are permitted to lie flat against the first and second arms respectively of the seat track while inhibiting any relative rocking motion between said elongate member and the seat track.
5. A seat track repair device as set forth in
said wings define a plurality of predrilled holes for the reception therethrough of said fastener.
6. A seat track repair device as set forth in
a floorboard support cooperating with said elongate member and the seat track, said floorboard support having a first and a second portion;
said first portion of said floorboard support cooperating with said elongate member such that when the rail is removed from the depending support member and said first and second wings of said elongate member are aligned respectively with the first and second arms of the seat track, one of the arms of the seat track is sandwiched between said first portion of said floorboard support and a corresponding adjacent wing of said elongate member.
7. A seat track repair device as set forth in
said floorboard support is an elongate metallic extrusion.
8. A seat track repair device as set forth in
said first portion of said floorboard support is drilled to define a number of apertures, each aperture being aligned with a corresponding hole of said wings so that when said wings of said elongate member are aligned with said first portion of said floorboard support, drilling through the intervening arm of the seat track and through said first portion permits insertion of said fastener for fastening said floorboard support and said elongate member to the seat track.
9. A seat track repair device as set forth in
said floorboard support supports a floorboard such that when the rail has been replaced by said replacement rail, an edge of said floorboard abuts against one of said wings of said elongate member while said floorboard is supported by said second portion of said floorboard support.
10. A seat track repair device as set forth in
said fastener includes:
a threaded shank portion having a first and a second end;
a head extending from said first end of said threaded shank portion;
a nut threadably cooperating with said shank portion.
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an aircraft seat track repair device.
More specifically, the present invention relates to an aircraft seat track repair device for an aircraft seat track having a rail, a support member depending from the rail, a first arm extending in a first direction laterally away from the support member and a second arm extending in a second direction laterally away from the support member, the first direction being opposite to the second direction.
2. Background Information
Aircraft seats for crew members and passengers are provided with means for adjustably sliding the seat on a pair of rails so that the position of the seat can be varied.
However, because the aircraft is used by various pilots, passengers and crew, the seat is frequently adjusted which causes rapid wear of the seat supporting rails. The replacement of such worn rails is a labor intensive operation and is thus a relatively expensive maintenance item. For example in the replacement of seat support rails or tracks for a Cessna Citation jet aircraft, the replacement of worn rails necessitates a major operation which includes accessing the frame structure in the aircraft cabin and the unriveting, cutting and splicing of numerous structures after the removal of the aircraft seats and the floorboarding.
The present invention provides a seat track replacement kit which greatly simplifies the replacement of worn rails by cutting off the worn rail and replacing the same with a replacement rail which is fastened to the base portion of the original rail.
Therefore, a primary feature of the present invention is the provision of an aircraft seat track repair device that overcomes the problems associated with the prior art arrangements.
Another feature of the present invention is the provision of an aircraft seat track repair device that greatly simplifies the replacement of worn seat tracks.
A further feature of the present invention is the provision of an aircraft seat track repair device that reduces the cost of replacement of worn seat tracks.
Other features and advantages of the present invention will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art by a consideration of the detailed description of a preferred embodiment of the present invention contained herein.
The present invention relates to an aircraft seat track repair device for an aircraft seat track which has a rail, a support member depending from the rail, a first arm extending in a first direction laterally away from the support member and a second arm extending in a second direction laterally away from the support member, the first direction being opposite to the second direction. The seat track device includes an elongate member having a first and a second end. The elongate member has a replacement rail which has an upper and a lower extremity. A first wing extends laterally away from the lower extremity of the replacement rail and a second wing extends laterally away from the lower extremity of the replacement rail and away from the first wing. A fastener extends through one of the wings of the elongate member such that when the rail is removed from the depending support member and the first and second wings of the elongate member are aligned respectively with the first and second arms of the seat track, the fastener also extends through a corresponding adjacent arm of the support member for fastening the elongate member to the aircraft seat track.
In a more specific embodiment of the present invention, the elongate member is a metal extrusion of inverted T-shaped configuration.
Also, the replacement rail is of substantially a same cross-sectional configuration as the rail removed from the depending support member.
Furthermore, the lower extremity of the replacement rail defines a cavity which extends from the first to the second end of the elongate member such that when the elongate member is aligned with the arms of the seat track after the removal of the rail, any remaining portion of the rail is accommodated within the cavity such that the first and second wings of the elongate member are permitted to lie flat against the first and second arms respectively of the seat track while inhibiting any relative rocking motion between the elongate member and the seat track.
Additionally, the wings define a plurality of predrilled holes for the reception therethrough of the fastener.
Also, a floorboard support cooperates with the elongate member and the seat track, the floorboard support having a first and a second portion
The first portion of the floorboard support cooperates with the elongate member such that when the rail is removed from the depending support member and the first and second wings of the elongate member are aligned respectively with the first and second arms of the seat track, one of the arms of the seat track is sandwiched between the first portion of the floorboard support and a corresponding adjacent wing of the elongate member.
Additionally, the floorboard support is an elongate metallic extrusion and the first portion of the floorboard support is drilled to define a number of apertures, each aperture being aligned with a corresponding hole of the wings so that when the wings of the elongate member are aligned with the first portion of the floorboard support, drilling through the intervening arm of the seat track and through the first portion permits insertion of the fastener for fastening the floorboard support and the elongate member to the seat track.
Moreover, the floorboard support supports a floorboard such that when the rail has been replaced by the replacement rail, an edge of the floorboard abuts against one of the wings of the elongate member while the floorboard is supported by the second portion of the floorboard support.
Also, the fastener includes a threaded shank portion having a first and a second end. A head extends from the first end of the threaded shank portion and a nut threadably cooperates with the shank portion.
The present invention also includes a method of repairing a seat track for an aircraft seat track having a rail, a support member depending from the rail, a first arm extending in a first direction laterally away from the support member and a second arm extending in a second direction laterally away from the support member, the first direction being opposite to the second direction. The method includes the steps of cutting off a worn rail of the seat track and aligning an elongate member having a first and a second end so that the elongate member is aligned relative to the arms of the seat track. The elongate member includes a replacement rail having an upper and a lower extremity. A first wing extends laterally away from the lower extremity of the replacement rail and a second wing extends laterally away from the lower extremity of the replacement rail and away from the first wing. The method also includes the step of positioning a floorboard support such that the support cooperates with the elongate member and the seat track, the floorboard support having a first and a second portion. The first portion of the floorboard support cooperates with the elongate member such that when the rail is removed from the depending support member and the first and second wing of the elongate member are aligned respectively with the first and second arm of the seat track, one of the arms of the seat track is sandwiched between the first portion of the floorboard support and a corresponding wing of the elongate member. Additionally, the method includes the step of inserting a fastener through the corresponding wing, the one of the arms and the first portion of the floorboard support for fastening the elongate member and the floorboard support to the seat track.
Many modifications and variations of the present invention will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art by a consideration of the detailed description contained hereinafter taken in conjunction with the annexed drawings which show a preferred embodiment of the present invention. However, such modifications and variations fall within the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims.
Similar reference characters refer to similar parts throughout the various views of the drawings.
Also, as shown in
Also, as shown in
As shown in
As shown particularly in
Also, the replacement rail 46 is of substantially a same cross-sectional configuration as the worn rail 12 removed from the depending support member 14.
Moreover, the lower extremity 50 of the replacement rail 46 defines a cavity 80 which extends from the first to the second end 42 and 44 of the elongate member 40. The arrangement is such that when the elongate member 40 is aligned with the arms 16 and 20 of the seat track 10 after the removal of the worn rail 12, any remaining portion of the rail 12 is accommodated within the cavity 80 as shown in
As shown in
As shown in
In operation of the device according to the present invention, the crew seats are removed from the cabin. The floorboard fasteners are located and with a set square, a line is drawn from the fasteners so that when the edges of the floorboard are trimmed, the location of the fastening points is maintained. Next, the outboard and inboard floorboards 24 and 32 and the side fairing 30 are removed. All of the instruments and sensitive equipment is masked to protect the same from any metal fragments generated during removal of the worn rails. The worn track of the rail 12 is removed by use of a cutting tool and by cutting the web below the track in a longitudinal direction. Any remaining portion of the web remaining after removal of the worn rail track is accommodated within the cavity 80. The first portion 58 of the support 56 is temporarily clamped with the arm 16 disposed between the wing 52 and the first portion 58 as shown in
The replacement rail 46 is of substantially the same configuration as the rail 12 and includes a number of seat adjustment holes such as hole 100 shown in
The present invention provides a unique arrangement for replacing worn rails of an aircraft crew seat.
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8651393, | Mar 26 2010 | Holland, L.P.; HOLLAND, L P ; Edison Welding Institute, Inc | Repair insert for repairing metallic structure |
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Executed on | Assignor | Assignee | Conveyance | Frame | Reel | Doc |
Jan 01 2007 | MCFARLANE, DANIEL S | Horizon, LLC | ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS | 018703 | /0108 | |
Oct 12 2021 | Horizon, LLC | BMO HARRIS BANK N A , AS ADMIN AGENT | SECURITY AGREEMENT | 057787 | /0758 |
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